papua
n. uncountablen. a large island in the Pacific Ocean, north of Australia. It is divided into two parts: the country of Papua New Guinea and a region belonging to Indonesia.
n. the second-largest island in the world, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. When used alone, it may refer to the entire island, the independent state of Papua New Guinea, or the Indonesian provinces on the western half.
Many unique birds live in the forests of Papua.
Researchers traveled to Papua to study the diverse languages spoken by the local communities in the highlands.
The biological diversity of Papua remains one of the most significant on the planet, containing vast tracts of rainforest that house species found nowhere else in the world.
There are three theories: * From Malay pepuah (“curly (of hair)”) for the natives of the island of New Guinea. * From Ternate/Tidore papo ua (“not united; not coalesced”), referring to the territory that geographically was far away from the Sultanate of Tidore (and thus not united). The territory was called papo ua gam sio (“nine village/region that is not united”). * From Biak sup i babwa (“the land below [the sunset]”), referring to the islands (Raja Ampat) west of the Bird's Head, as far as Halmahera.
Usually functions as a proper noun; typically used without an article unless referring to a specific administrative region.